New community choir invites all to assist in spreading peace
There are many ways people promote peace in their communities: nonviolent rallies, discussions and debates, informational campaigns, works of art … the list goes on.
Angelyn Hirai, a longtime elementary school music teacher and choral director who recently moved to the area after 23 years in Florida, is hoping to spread peace in Greater Lansing through her new chorus, Just Peace.
“It started back in March. The No Kings rally and the Minneapolis stuff were going on, and I just needed something positive to do with all the yuck energy,” she said. “The year before there was a performance, but there wasn’t group singing, and I really wanted to see that happen.
“I asked around, and I couldn’t really find where that was happening, although since then I’ve learned that there’s resistance singing happening in a couple of spots,” she continued. “I started asking people if they would want to do this, and they did, so we started learning chants and songs that were approachable and easy.”
Back in charge of a group of singers, Hirai realized something had been missing from her life.
“Everybody was like, ‘Hey, are we gonna keep doing this?’” she said. “I’m a choral director and really needed a choir. I had a choir for 20 years. So, I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s keep doing this.’ We named it Just Peace Chorus just recently.”
No auditions are required to participate in the chorus, and all are welcome, regardless of age or experience level.
“I’m confident in my ability to teach people to sing, and there are always enough people who come that have experience. A beauty of choir is that everybody seems to find their space,” Hirai said. “And then if somebody has less skill in terms of reading music, there will be all kinds of resources, like listening tracks and extra rehearsals if I need to. Whatever people need to be successful, I’m willing to find that source for them to make it so that they can participate.”
Rehearsals began last Sunday (Sept. 13) and are held weekly from 4 to 6 p.m. at Edgewood United Church in East Lansing. Every second Sunday of the month is an open sing-along for all community members, regardless of their affiliation with the choir.
“The choir is a little different in that it’s kind of a two-part choir,” Hirai said. “We are still learning resistance songs and chants and songs that we can sing out in public spaces, but it’s also a concert choir that sings art songs that are polished for concerts.”
Even at concerts, however, Hirai still plans to take the opportunity to fundraise for or bring awareness to pressing issues.
“I would really like to see people just having awareness of what needs there are. Obviously, politically, people are really motivated right now because of some of the stuff that’s going on nationally, but there are also a lot of local things happening that we could help with,” she said. “Being an educator, I see firsthand how much families are struggling to meet all of their needs, so we’re finding those spaces where we can fill the gap.”
